With a 2-1 win over Movistar Riders, #FURIA guaranteed their spot in the lower bracket final. The Brazilians beat Alejandro #alex Masanet’s team by a slim margin on Inferno (16-13), before suffering a crushing loss (20-22) on Anubis that forced a decisive game. The second half of Nuke (16-8) appeared to be proceeding similarly to the first two maps, but Andrei #arT Piovezan and the team came together and won.

Game opener

Antonio #Martinez Martinez took the opening pistol for Movistar Riders during the 1v2 clinch to start the game on Inferno. The Spaniard shooter was essential to the offense’s first half success because of his significant grenades and adaptability, which helped his team to a 10-5 advantage. Only a few random rounds were discovered by FURIA’s defense, which was primarily built on B site holds from arT and Andre #drop Abreu.

After the break, the Brazilians started to pound Movistar Riders on attack turning the race on its head. Kaike #KSCERATO Cerato with 1.93 T rating and a 14-5 K-D, didn’t hold back and soared to the top of the leaderboard, while FURIA fought their way back into the match by winning eight of the opening nine rounds. With the help of alex, the Spanish briefly gained momentum toward the end of the half, but KSCERATO’s following strike on the A bombsite ended their chances of winning, 16-13.

Analysts were a little confused by FURIA’s choice of the map Anubis, because the Brazilians previous matchup with IHC at IEM Katowice resulted in a loss and their removal from the play-in. This time arT’s guys were ready, and their defense was able to hold off Movistar Riders’ offense to recover a 6-9 half thanks to their CT aggression on a few rounds.

The Spanish team won the third pistol round of the series, but their triumph was fleeting because FURIA quickly fought back with a force purchase victory. Before Movistar Riders were able to post a win, the opponents’ economy was momentarily disrupted, and the Brazilians reduced the gap to just one round. To keep FURIA in the game and compel overtime, arT and company won three force purchased rounds. Movistar Riders scored five map points overall, but ultimately lost 22-20 in the second map of additional time.

Decisive map

The Spaniards won the pistol round to start the finale on Nuke, giving them the upper hand right away. Alejandro #mopoz Fernandez Quejo Cano helped them stay competitive throughout the first half, and they even managed to gain a 7-5 advantage as the Brazilians failed to coordinate their defenses. They turned their form around late in the half, capturing the last three rounds to edge out an 8-7 lead before the break.

After switching to the T side, FURIA won the second pistol round of the series, increasing their winning run to seven games. The Brazilians’ attack stunned Movistar Riders, who only scored once throughout the entire second half before giving up the game with an 8-16 total.